Adobe Acrobat X: Your Frequently-Asked Questions Answered

It’s been about a year since Acrobat X (10) was released, and given Adobe’s typical two-year cycle with this product line, it will probably be another year before we see Acrobat 11 coming out… So in the meantime, we’ve put together a list of helpful questions and answers that have accumulated here and during sessions with Adobe.

Hopefully sharing this information below can help answer frequently-asked questions that you may also have about the product:

Q: Can guided actions be Reader enabled or do you have to have Acrobat?

A: Guided actions are used in Acrobat.

Q: Does Acrobat X further reduce the file size of scan documents?

A: You’re going to be surprised at the improvements in scanned files in Acrobat X. It has undergone some significant improvements.

Q: PDF Portfolios are cool and will work in Adobe Reader 9 and higher, is that correct? For using them, what is the current “penetration” of Reader 9 and higher out there?

A: We generally don’t share that information. If you’re concerned about people with lower versions of Reader not seeing your content, Acrobat X can export a Portfolio as a web site. All you need is a Flash-capable browser – no Reader required.

Q: Oh, OK – I thought you did, because I see Flash Player penetration numbers everywhere (like 99%), so I thought it might be the same with Reader. Does Reader now update itself with the same kind of technology as Flash Player then?

A: No – though we have changed the way that the updater works to make it more seamless.

Q: Thanks. On “Acrobat X can export any PDF Portfolio as a Flash-based website.” – that is really really cool!

A: No kidding. It’s quite amazing. Not only that, but it’s very quick.

Q: Does the Mac version of X support embedding Flash video?

A: Version 9 and X on Windows and Mac support embedded or streaming Flash video. We do it all!

Q: Okay but can a PDF portfolio, in general, be uploaded somewhere for sharing online? if it includes video?

A: Absolutely. Do you have an account at Acrobat.com? You can upload portfolios to that workspace and share them.

Q: That’s great. does the video that is embedded playback when the PDF portfolio is updated to Acrobat.com

A: It depends on your user, not the file itself. If your browser opens a PDF file in Adobe Reader directly in the browser, then you’ll see it online.

Q: Can you edit the file now that it is Word?

A: Yes absolutely. It’s full text and images to do whatever you like.

Q: If I want to have a first page as a table of contents for a large documents will do that and if I edit will pagination change automatically?

A: You’d need to reauthor the file in your authoring application and recreate the PDF file.

Q: Does Acrobat X include a page flip feature to make portfolios appear more like e-books?

A: No. The way Portfolios work in Acrobat X doesn’t look like a book at all; switching pages in the documents is a simple fade or cut.

Q: Can you have an image on a folder (so you see the image rather than the folder icon)?

A: Yes it certainly is. You don’t open LCD directly from Acrobat X though, as you saw in previous versions. You certainly can work in LCD for form creation and editing. But you don’t have a command in Acrobat itself to open LCD as you saw in previous versions of Acrobat.

Q: Exactly what role does LiveCycle Designer have with forms in Acrobat X? Is there a clear explanation of LCD and Acrobat and how they relate to one another?

A: LCD is a separate program. Acrobat forms are PDF-based forms you create in Acrobat X. You can open a form created in Acrobat, but you can’t open a form created in LCD for editing in Acrobat. In previous versions of Acrobat, you could click a command in the Forms menu to open LCD.

Q: Is LiveCycle Designer still shipping with Acrobat Pro? Is it a separate install?

A: Yes it does ship with Acrobat Pro X (Windows), and a separate install.

Q: That helps but I still am quite confused by LCD and Acrobat. I have Acrobat 9 Pro Extended. My understanding has been that I create forms in LCD. So what you are telling me now is that form creation can now be done directly in Acrobat X?

A: You have always been able to create forms in Acrobat itself, and it is the only option available for Mac users.

Q: Capturing from Chrome browser?

A: We don’t support Chrome yet.

Q: Where can we get the PDFmaker for Firefox on Mac?

A: It’s installed as part of the Acrobat X installation. And it works very well.

Q: Can it capture video also when you capture a web page?

A: It can – depends on how the video is streamed though.

Q: What is the educational cost for Acrobat X on Mac?

A: You’ll have to check the Adobe Education Store site for the various costs for upgrades and full versions.

Q: Can third party plug-ins be integrated into the Action Wizard?

A: Of course.

Q: In version 9, I sometimes had problems with links in Portfolio. Is Acrobat X any more robust in that respect, for example, will it now recognize files imported after the Portfolio was constructed?

A: It depends on the type of link. External links, sure. If you’re linking from one file to another within a portfolio, you have to do that manually.

I would like to have images show up and allow the user to select one of the images as their choice when a drop down box is opened. This would allow them to see an actual picture of their choice instead of just the “name”.

Correct. I am in the process of trying to create fill-able forms that will allow my technicians to enter the customers information and the other important things we need to know. One of those items being the color of their existing equipment. Since we work with multiple color codes I think it would be easier to have a drop down box labeled “color” and when they click on it, instead of the color codes in text showing up, it would actually present the technician with the colors as an image for them to choose from. Make sense?

I use Acrobat for print production and I see a new “background” – “add background” feature – but it appears the colors provided are all RGB. I’ve tried to use what appear to be drop downs and fly out menus without any luck. I would like to be able to select CMYK values using the “color” tool.

(I also find it strange if I choose “other color”, the colors are displayed on top of the new menu – you have to move the newly-opened window to the side to get to any of the options.)

I’m using a Mac, has anyone else encountered this problem of not being able to use what appear to be drop down menus and fly outs in the color window?

I cannot save over an existing file in Acrobat X Pro. I have a message like: “This file may be read-only, or another user may have it open. Please save the document with a different name or in a different folder.”

But I am the owner of the file and nobody opened it. This must be a problem with Acrobat X Pro. I never have had this kind of problem with previous Acrobat versions.

Just off the top (quick and dirty), you could probably do the same thing we suggested before – only select just the particular pages you want to print in B&W, and then rejoin those pages into your color document, combining to replace the originals. That would be one way to approach it.

All videos (on Face Book, You Tube, etc) say- “blocked plug in”. I have downloaded Adobe Flash Player several times and they are still blocked. I am missing something here. Could you help me on this one?

Not sure why Bonnie, it may have something to do with the content of the text or if it contains any spaces on one end or the other… So check that, or you might try creating two separate lines of text and centering them each individually.

Also since your application is older please make sure it has all available updates (check Help menu > Updates).

Hey there Lori, one way is you’ll see the size of all the documents you’ve recently opened on the home screen of new Adobe Acrobat DC – just close (‘X’) the document and there they all are listed for you.

The exact size is also given under File menu > Properties, or ‘Ctrl’ + D. There are probably other ways as well.

Why does the entire document shift when trying to edit a single line item in Acrobat? Such as deleting a date to enter new or different date(s) the original form lines move instead of just deleting the text you want deleted and then letting you add your new text.

I recently changed printers – from an HP DeskJet 6800 series to the HP Envy 4500 All-in-One. I did delete the 6800 series before the install. However, when I try to print in Adobe, the only printer allowed is the HP 6800 series printer. My new 4500 series printer is not even given as a choice. What do I need to do to get Adobe to recognize the 4500 series printer?

I’m doing a History of our Private School – 50 years, which has about 100 pages in Word. I want to know if your Adobe Acrobat Standard would do this – Put a Search Bar at the top of the document. I want to allow people who purchase the history to be able to search for events, names, etc. Then I wish to put it all on a DVD. Any ideas?

I created a drop down menu in my pdf as instructed but having problems with the menu floating/moving across my document if I do no de-select from that field and use the scroll bar on the right. I’ve searched the Help menu in the program as well as you tube’d it with no such luck! Any suggestions would be great!